It’s Thursday…
President Biden’s public schedule for 08/10/2023:
| 11:00 AM Presidential Daily Brief | The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing (9:00 AM Local) Kimpton Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City, UT Closed Press |
| 11:45 AM | Out-of-Town Pool Call Time (9:45 AM Local) Kimpton Hotel Monaco Salt Lake City, UT Out-of-Town Pool |
| 1:15 PM Remarks | The President delivers remarks on the one year anniversary of the PACT Act, which is the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans and their survivors in over 30 years (11:15 AM Local) George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT Open Press |
| 3:30 PM Campaign Event | The President participates in a campaign reception (1:30 PM Local) Park City, UT Restricted Out-of-Town Pool |
| 5:25 PM Leaves Salt Lake City, Utah | The President departs Salt Lake City, Utah en route to Joint Base Andrews (3:25 PM Local) Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base, Salt Lake City, UT Out-of-Town Pool |
| 7:55 PM | In-Town Pool Call Time The White HouseIn-Town Pool |
| 9:10 PM Leaves Joint Base Andrews | The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route to the White House Joint Base Andrews Out-of-Town Pool |
| 9:20 PM Arrives at the White House | The President arrives at the White House South Lawn Open Press |
PACT Act Turns 1 Tweet
From Thursday…
The video clip is 1 minute and 55 seconds long.
President Biden: The day I signed the PACT Act into law, standing next to me were the Robinson’s, who lost their husband and father. Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson died from a rare lung cancer after being exposed to a burn pit.
Danielle Robinson: My name is Danielle Robinson and I am the surviving spouse of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who the PACT Act is named after. He really was an all-around great soldier who just would drop anything to go help his family, his friends, and, of course, any of his soldiers that were underneath him. He was wonderful with our daughter, Brielle. She is such a daddy’s girl. And even when he was sick, he participated as a soccer coach for her. He completely lived through her during his, his battle with the cancer. And he knew he was terminal right from the start with the diagnosis. And so he fought and fought.
President Biden: Danielle, Brielle, and their family went out there and campaigned to help veterans, help demand that we do better by the veterans for their service and their sacrifice. I’m in awe of their courage. And the courage of thousands of others who never gave up the fight for health care and the benefits you deserve. That’s why I’m proud to say, we got it done the PACT Act, that’s what we passed. It’s the largest bill to address burn pits exposure in our history, the biggest expansion of veterans’ benefits in decades.
Danielle Robinson: It just means so much to us. And Heath can live on nor through so many people across the country and millions of veterans that are going to really be taken better care of because of this PACT Act.
From the White House…
One year ago today, President Biden signed the landmark bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law, enacting the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. Named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, a decorated combat medic who died from a rare form of lung cancer, this historic legislation is delivering timely benefits and services to veterans—across all generations—who have been impacted by toxic exposures while serving our country.
President Biden believes that our nation has a sacred obligation to properly prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way – and to care for them and their families when they return home. Sometimes military service can result in increased health risks for our veterans, and some injuries and illnesses like asthma, cancer, and others can take years to manifest. These realities can make it difficult for veterans to establish a direct connection between their service and disabilities resulting from military environmental exposures such as burn pits – a necessary step to ensure they receive the health care they earned. The PACT Act eliminates these barriers and ensures veterans get the care and services they deserve.
President Biden has made clear that supporting our veterans is a commitment that unites all Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents — and it’s why he made supporting our veterans a core element of his Unity Agenda. Today, on the anniversary of the signing of the PACT Act, the President will join veterans and their families at the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, to discuss how this historic, bipartisan legislation has delivered lifesaving health care and benefits to more than 340,000 veterans and survivors.
Today, the Biden-Harris administration will also release new national and state-by-state data on PACT Act claims, which have been processed at record rates by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the past year, the Administration has helped veterans in every state and territory receive the services and care they deserve by:
White House.gov. 08/10/2023.
- Screening veterans for toxic exposures: More than 4.1 million veterans have received free screenings for toxic exposures from VA under the PACT Act – a critical step to catching and treating potentially life-threatening health conditions as early as possible.
- Delivering benefits to veterans and their survivors: Over the past year, VA has delivered more than $1.85 billion in earned PACT Act-related benefits to veterans and their survivors. VA is delivering these benefits to veterans at the fastest rate in history, processing 1.65 million total claims thus far in this fiscal year – 16% more year-to-date than the previous all-time record. In total, VA has processed 458,659 PACT Act claims since August 10, 2022.
- Prioritizing veterans with cancer: As a part of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, VA has prioritized claims processing for veterans with cancer – delivering nearly $215 million in PACT Act benefits to veterans with cancer. VA also prioritizes claims for veterans with terminal illnesses and veterans experiencing homelessness.
- Spreading the word to veterans and their survivors: Thanks to the PACT Act outreach campaign, veterans and survivors are applying for their earned benefits at record rates. In this fiscal year, veterans and survivors have submitted 1.95 million total claims – the most in VA history and a 37% increase over last year. This includes 843,448 PACT Act-specific claims applications.
- Increasing VA’s capacity to serve veterans: Thanks to new PACT Act authorities, VA has been able to expand its workforce in order to serve veterans as quickly and effectively as possible. In total, both the Veterans Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits administration have achieved their highest growth rates in 20 years — and the Veterans Benefits Administration is now above 29,000 employees for the first time in history.
- Eliminating benefits delays for veterans: Instead of phasing in conditions over several years (as outlined in the legislation), the Biden-Harris Administration decided to make all conditions in the PACT Act presumptive for benefits as of August 10, 2022, the day the bill was signed into law. This decision expedited the timeline for veterans to receive their earned care and benefits by several years.
These historic efforts to address military toxic exposures build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s recent work to support our nation’s veterans
- Ending veteran homelessness. No one should be homeless in this country, especially not those who served it. Last year, VA found permanent housing for over 40,000 veterans and set a goal to permanently house at least 38,000 veterans this year. And, President Biden is proposing to triple the number of rental assistance vouchers for extremely low-income veterans. These efforts are leading to results: from 2020 to 2022, there was an 11 percent decline in veteran homelessness.
- Investing in mental health & suicide prevention efforts. Since releasing a comprehensive public health strategy for reducing military and veteran suicide, the Biden-Harris Administration has continued to improve mental health care and suicide prevention efforts for veterans. VA is doing everything it can, including expanding mental health screenings, increasing access to legal and financial support, and hiring more mental health professionals, to help veterans get the help they need. For veterans and family members who may be experiencing a crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line is available 24/7 by dialing 988 and then pressing 1.
- Securing jobs for our veterans. Roughly 200,000 service members transition from the military each year and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to providing them and their spouses the support they need to find good paying jobs. This includes helping connect veterans to registered apprentice programs, so they can transfer the skills they learned in the military. This year, VA will launch a transition assistance grant program for organizations that help veterans and their spouses find jobs when they leave the military.
- Supporting veterans and caregivers. This spring, President Biden signed an Executive Order directing the VA to cut red tape and give veterans who need assistance at home more flexibility to pick their own caregivers. The order also directed expansion of caregiver support programs, including launching a new initiative to deliver mental health services for caregivers. And, earlier this summer, President Biden went to North Carolina and signed an Executive Order at Fort Liberty. The Executive Order calls for the most comprehensive set of administrative actions in our nation’s history to support the economic security of military and veteran spouses, caregivers, and survivors.
If you are a veteran, visit www.va.gov/PACT or go to your local VA hospital to see if you are eligible for PACT Act benefits and services.
For a state-by-state breakdown of PACT Act data, click here.
White House.gov. 08/10/2023.
President Biden PACT Act anniversary remarks are scheduled for 1:15 p.m. D.C., time…
Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act, 08/10/2022).
“Bidenomics”/CHIPS Turns 1 Years Old Tweets
From Wednesday…
The video clip is 1 minute and 3 seconds long. It’s a mash-up of past remarks regrading the CHIPS and Science Act…
Remarks by President Biden at Signing of H.R. 4346, “The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022” (08/09/2022):
Today is a day for builders. Today, America is delivering. Delivering. (Applause.) And I honest to God believe that 50, 75, 100 years from now, from — people who will look back to this week, they’ll know that we met this moment. Today, I’m signing into law the CHIPS and Science Act, a once-in-a-generation investment in America itself, a law that the American people can be proud of.
[snip]
Fundamental change is taking place today — politically, economically, and technologically — change that can either strengthen our sense of control and security, of dignity and pride in our lives, in our nation; or — or change that weakens us so that people are left behind, causing them to question whether or not the very institutions — our economy, our democracy itself — can still deliver for them, for everybody.
White House.gov. 08/09/2022.
Remarks by President Biden on the CHIPS and Science Act (11/04/2022):
What you do here at this company really matters. So much of it depends on semiconductors — those tiny computer chips the size of a fingertip — that power our everyday lives and power more and more of what we need: smartphones, automobiles, washing machines, hospital equipment, you name it.
White House.gov. 11/04/2022.
Remarks by President Biden at Signing of H.R. 4346, “The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022” (08/09/2022):
America invented the semiconductor, as mea- — as has been mentioned already, and this law brings it back home. It’s in our economic interest and it’s in our national security interest to do so.
[snip]
We can channel all our resources. Most of all, we can channel the full talents of all our people into a greater measure of hope and opportunity for our nation and for the world — to create good jobs, empower workers, grow the economy, not just for the wealthy but grow it for everyone; to change the course of human health and disease; to tackle climate crisis with innovation and jobs; to lead the world — not — this is not hyperbole — lead the world in future industries and protect our national security.
White House.gov. 08/09/2022.
Remarks by President Biden on the CHIPS and Science Act (11/04/2022):
Look, folks, I came here because it’s an example of the bri- — one of the bright spots we’re seeing across the country, where America is reasserting itself. As simple as that.
[snip]
Look, our best days are ahead of us. They’re not behind us. We just have to remember who in the hell we are. We’re the United States of America. (Applause.) There’s nothing — I mean it — there’s nothing beyond our capacity — nothing beyond our capacity if we work together.
We’re the only nation in the world that’s come out of every crisis stronger than when we went in. And we’re going to do it again.
White House.gov. 11/04/2022.
The YouTube is 31 minutes and 14 seconds long.
In a rare mistake from the White House website team, they have accidentally copied remarks from a different event labeling it “President Biden Delivers Remarks on a Clean Energy and Manufacturing Boom”. Like I said mistakes like that are super rare from his interwebs team…
From Thursday…
His full statement:
Today’s report shows that our economy remains strong. Annual inflation has fallen by around two thirds since last summer, and inflation outside of food and energy has fallen to its lowest level in any three-month period since September 2021. We’ve made this progress while maintaining the broad strength of our economy: unemployment remains near record lows, a higher share of working age Americans are working now than in 20 years, real wages for the average American worker are growing and are higher than they were before the pandemic—with lower wage workers seeing the largest gains. We’re growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America: that’s Bidenomics.
White House.gov. 08/10/2023.
New York Times Economic Reporter and our Friend Ben Casselman tweeted:
To summarize the above thread:
Inflation is still a thing, it’s cooling at the slowest pace ever, I think turtles can cover miles and miles faster than inflation is cooling…
The Federal Reserve is likely to approve an interest rate hike at least one more time before 2023 is over.
American Rescue Plan.
Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Inflation Reduction Act.
CHIPS and Science Act.
Wildfires Tweets
From Wednesday…
NBC News said:
Officials have warned that the death toll is likely to rise in the coming days.
From the Washington Post live update thread:
Here’s what to know
- Hawaii National Guard members have been activated, and helicopters are searching for those left behind in areas without power and accessible roads. The immediate priority is to save lives, officials said, adding that it was too early to determine the scale of the destruction and loss of life.
- Hundreds of families on Maui have been displaced, Gov. Josh Green (D) said. The fires prompted mass evacuations, created widespread power outages and forced schools to close.
- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 14 people from waters off Lahaina, after they were forced into the sea by fast-approaching flames. Photographs shared by the service showed the blaze burning right up to the waterfront, as flames illuminated the billowing plumes of smoke.
- Fire risks on the Hawaiian islands were exacerbated by months of drought and weather patterns that allowed the blazes to spread faster than anticipated, officials said. Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, adjutant general of the Hawaii National Guard, said hurricane-force wind gusts made it difficult for aircraft to contain the flames.
President Biden’s full statement:
Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the wildfires in Maui, and our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed. We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives.
I have ordered all available Federal assets on the Islands to help with response. The Hawaiian National Guard has mobilized Chinook Helicopters to help with fire suppression and search and rescue on the Island of Maui. The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy Third Fleets are supporting response and rescue efforts. The Army is providing Black Hawk Helicopters to fight the fires on the Big Island. The Department of Transportation is working with commercial airlines to evacuate tourists from Maui, and the Department of the Interior and the United States Department of Agriculture stand ready to support post fire recovery efforts.
White House.gov. 08/09/2023.
I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials, and stay alert.
This is an Open Thread.
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